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Compositional and functional characteristics of goat milk and relevance as a base for infant formula
Author(s) -
Prosser Colin G
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/1750-3841.15574
Subject(s) - infant formula , food science , cow milk , milk products , medicine , infant feeding , sheep milk , biology , pediatrics , breast feeding
Goat milk has a long history of use for human nutrition. There are a number of studies investigating the technofunctional properties and nutritional value of goat milk for production of consumer products such as cheese, yoghurts, and Ultra‐high temperature (UHT) milks. Although fresh goat milk was traditionally used for feeding young children, use of goat milk for commercial production of formula for infants or young children has only been considered in the scientific literature since 2000s. In this review, the nutritional science relating to goat milk is discussed from the perspective of infant nutrition. A critical analysis of the scientific data concerning the composition and functional characteristics of goat milk that pertain to infant nutrition is included. From this overview, three key conclusions are possible: (1) there is a range of compositional data to support the application of goat milk for infants, provided it is fortified; (2) goat milk has the potential to influence the gastrointestinal environment differently to cow milk; and (3) the nutritional adequacy of fortified goat milk formula for newborn infants has been confirmed in clinical trials.